8:15 AM, Hancent, Jyorta, and Heima arrived before a certain house and knocked at the door. The door opened to reveal a lady with young facial features; she was Laila's mother. Looking at the visage of the crying Jyorta, her gaze softened; gently holding the shoulders of Jyorta, she walked him to a sofa in the living room. Heima lifted her hand in efforts to console Jyorta, stopping midway as she felt some pain in her back.
The father and daughter bade them farewell and rushed towards the metro station, boarding a metro train that sped towards the 1st Academy. Heima was panting a little as she occupied a window seat, the previous dash had exhausted her frail body. Hancent was slightly better off than her, adjusting his overcoat and massaging his brows in an effort to negate his sleep-deprived state.
"Dad," Heima turned her head, her eyes unconsciously turning green, prompting Hancent to cover her eyes immediately. He hurriedly apologised to the nearby passengers—men and women in their 30s and 40s who sent a glare his way—and admonished Heima.
"Never use your Skill to look at others. They would find it offensive and retaliate against you without a second thought."
After her eyes had turned normal, Heima shook her head in refusal, "I didn't voluntarily activate it. I know better than to use it without reason, especially when I don't know its uses."
'Does that mean… that entity inside her activated it? How is that possible? It hasn't even been 3 days, how could it grow so fast?' Hancent was startled, his face a mixture of disbelief and fear. He hurriedly controlled his facial expression in fear a third party might plan something against his daughter, using this as an excuse.
8:25 AM, the duo entered the gates of 1st Academy, heading straight to the topmost floor. Following the directions of a security personnel, they reached an auditorium, finding the Principal seated on the dais. A couple of teachers sat beside her, one of them being Heima's homeroom teacher, a burly man in his thirties.
The duo seated themselves in a random corner, giving them enough free space in the auditorium capable of seating 100 people. The seats were sparsely occupied, with each student accompanied by a parent, numbering a total of 30 people. Seeing only 14 familiar faces of her classmates, Heima remembered the words of her father; her emotions lost control as she broke into tears. She silently wiped them, held her father's hands, and sat in silence, sniffing.
When everyone was seated, the Principal made a headcount and found all the 15 students who had survived the Induction Ceremony present in the auditorium, accompanied by their parents. She walked to the podium, adjusted the mike, and cleared her throat.
"Soon, we will be proceeding to Sector 1 where the students will spend the next full year there. Because of some matters, we had to prepone the military training; until the end of this month, we advise you, parents, to accompany your children. All necessities will be provided free of cost; we will also make some arrangements so that you can work from there if the situation necessitates."
A door opened behind her that led into a long, dark corridor. "Please follow me in an orderly manner. Also, make sure you don't leave any of your belongings here." Following her words, all students, followed by their respective parents stood up, walking towards the corridor.
Through the corner of her eyes, Heima noticed her friend walking, hand held with her mother, looking tired and sad. She didn't pay any attention to her surroundings, being led by her mother. After a couple of steps, she closed her eyes, a thin stream of tears streaked out of them, forming two lines on her cheeks. Heima unconsciously tightened her grip, making Hancent pat her shoulders, giving her some courage.
The group reached the end of the long dark corridor, facing a lift that opened to reveal a large boot space capable of accommodating everyone present. 30 people, the Principal, and 4 teachers boarded the lift, making it feel a little cramped. A faint feeling of vertigo enveloped them as the lift descended with rapid velocity, reaching the ground floor in 20 seconds, and going further below.
30 seconds later, the lift opened to reveal a dark open corridor; military personnel stood guard next to the lift, emitting suffocating auras. The Principal walked to the front and hurriedly flashed her ID card and a set of documents. A man in a military uniform inspected her ID card, briefly scanned the documents presented, and parted to the side, allowing them passage.
"Next time, don't forget to send an advance notice." The man turned silent after saying his piece, looking like a sculpture made out of stone, his eyes unblinking while his chest remained staid, showing no signs of breathing. The Principal broke out in cold sweat, hurriedly responding with an acknowledgment to the soldier who didn't even spare another glance at her.
A couple of minutes later, the Principal led the group to a platform, a long paved open corridor, the two sides of which had calculated depressions. Two parallel tracks ran along them, made of steel, having a profile of rounded I-beam. As the group waited, the platform began to tremor with faint undulations, increasing in amplitude before a huge behemoth of steel made its appearance.
Spanning 6 metres high, having 12 compartments, and its exterior made from large blocks of steel, it was a gargantuan steel fortress. The application of brakes made faint sparks emerge from the wheels, making it stop after some time, revealing an empty passenger compartment to the group.
Heima focused her gaze on the other compartments, finding machines, military soldiers, dead creatures whose flesh exuded a faint overbearing aura, etc. She hurriedly retracted her gaze upon finding her head spin, her breathing laboured, and her back soaked with sweat.
Hancent stood next to her, releasing his aura that shielded her from the external auras. The other parents too mimicked the same, shielding their children from being overwhelmed by the suffocating auras that were radiating from the various compartments.
The group entered their compartment, finding enough space inside for them to be seated comfortably. As a habit, Heima sat on a window seat, pulling Hancent to sit beside her, her gaze focused on the dark, gloomy platform.
"Dad, where is this train heading to? How come I never knew of it until now?" Heima inquired. The novelty of her surroundings spooked her, giving her a feeling that the city she resided in had plenty of secrets concealed beneath the surface.
"This is a military facility," Hancent said, "Below the city where we live exists many layers, each layer serving a specific purpose. Above ground where we live is officially termed as the Upper Strata and the layer we are in at present is termed as the Lower Strata. There are three more layers below us: Fruit Strata, Grain Strata, and Water Strata; the Lower Strata and below falls under the direct control of the military."
"Actually," A middle-aged man, who happened to listen in to their conversation piped in, "Transportation of goods, weapons, materials, and deployment of soldiers to war sites are all done through these underground trains. Factories that manufacture our daily necessities, battle armaments, etc. are all placed here in the Lower Strata."
"Thank you, uncle," Heima said, falling silent as their compartment dimmed, a single bulb flashed to life, barely illuminating their surroundings. The train stopped sporadically; Heima noticed many soldiers get off, carrying huge monster carcasses wrapped in transparent wrappings, dripping blood. There were soldiers who easily carried large machines that were ten times their size as if it weighed nothing.
As Heima gazed at them, her eyes unconsciously turned green when suddenly, their compartment was enveloped by a bone-dripping silence. The sole bulb that provided illumination in their compartment burst into fragments, scattering on the floor, making clanging sounds; the surroundings turned dark.
A hand suddenly collided with the window next to her; a face came into her view, eyes wide, staring into the compartment. Its hair looked like a mop, its forehead was covered with granules spurting strands of wriggling yellow hair, and its eyes were a shade of white, looking dull and vacant, a sinister feeling emanating through it. It traced her body, landing on her eyes; a devilish sneer appeared on the face.
"Kyaak!" Heima screamed in fright, scrambling away from the window; her face pale, and her body shivering like a leaf caught in the midst of a tornado. An overcoat hurriedly enveloped her body, bring her away from the window. The hair on Hancent stood up straight as he flailed his hands, lifting everyone seated on the compartment and pulling them to the other side.
The devilish face with a sneer clenched its fist, shattering the glass window, and sending it flying towards the crowd. Hancent waved his hands, stopping the glass shards mid-air, redirecting it towards the assailant. The assailant looked a mix between a man and a woman, features of insects appearing all over its body, painting it with a terrifying vibe. Its body continuously experienced changes, producing crunching sounds as if a monster was munching on a pile of bones.
With a leap, the assailant entered the compartment, lunging towards the group of people, its multi-faced eyes focusing on Heima. From the group, the middle-aged man who spoke with Heima lunged forward; scales covered his arms, and spikes emerged out at the front as the man sent a punch at the assailant, sending it reeling out of the compartment.
Immediately, numerous shadows pounced upon the assailant, pinning him down on the ground. One of the shadows lifted his hand, making it enlarge until thrice the original size, a metallic lustre covering it. He sent it reeling down on the head of the assailant, smashing it into a meat paste.
Even after having its head shattered, the assailant counteracted by swiping it hands that had overgrown claws at one of the shadows, sending it flying away, impacting one of the compartments. Another shadow thinned its hands until it looked like blades, swiping it across the assailant, slicing its body into numerous pieces. The surroundings dimmed down to silence; Heima could hear the sounds of her heartbeats.
A couple of seconds later, followed by the sounds of a pair of boots impacting the ground, a man wearing military garments stepped foot in their compartment, carrying a wide-angle torchlight in his hands. He inspected the group, checking for any signs for injury, sighing in relief after everyone seemed safe. He turned to Hancent and the middle-aged man near him, performing a salute.
"I thank you for your prompt actions. If not for that, I am afraid we wouldn't have been able to suppress him so quickly, that too without any casualties."
"As long as none of us are injured, everything's fine," Hancent said, placing his hands around Heima's shoulder, nudging for her to stay silent.
The military soldier took a glance at Heima, at her eyes that shone green, "It's for the best if the adults sat on the edges with the children at the centre. This would prevent further accidents from happening. After having just returned from a war, all the soldiers are fraught with many ailments and mental disorders. It is best to exercise caution." After saying his piece, the military man performed a salute and walked out of the compartment.
One of the soldiers entered the compartment and waved his hand, lifting all the glass pieces and traces of blood that had spilled on the floor, carrying it with him as he flashed a calm smile at the children, jumping onto the platform.
The train started moving immediately, prompting the group to hurriedly seat themselves. This time, Hancent stood near the broken window, the middle-aged man who spoke to Heima accompanied him. The other adults calmly stood at all corners of the compartment, including the Principal and the other teachers. The 15 students sat in the centre, silent, nervous, and afraid; some looked like they would puke any moment, a small stain coloured their lower garments.
"Seeing a Developer lose control like that, that too inside the city; that was a first for me," The middle-aged man who spoke to Heima broke the silence, staring at Hancent with praise for his quick wit before.
"Indeed," Hancent sighed, "He must have been on the verge of collapse; otherwise, he wouldn't have lost control just at the sight of a Tier 1 Skill activation."